Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-36812

Opentsdb ≤ 2.4.2

Public PoC
Published
30 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.17 97th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-36812 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Opentsdb Opentsdb. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

OpenTSDB, an open source distributed time series database, contains a remote code execution vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-36812. The flaw arises when user-controlled input is written into a Gnuplot configuration file that is subsequently executed by the Gnuplot binary, enabling arbitrary command execution. The issue is rated 9.8 on CVSS 3.1 and is classified under CWE-74 (Injection). It was addressed in release 2.4.2 through commits 07c4641471c and fa88d3e4b.

Unauthenticated attackers with network access can exploit the vulnerability without user interaction to obtain full control over the affected OpenTSDB instance, including the ability to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host. The attack surface is exposed whenever the Gnuplot integration is reachable, which occurs by default in vulnerable configurations.

Public advisories and the project repository recommend upgrading to version 2.4.2. Where immediate upgrade is not feasible, operators can set tsd.core.enable_ui to true and delete the mygnuplot.bat and mygnuplot.sh shell scripts to disable the affected code path. The current EPSS score of 0.8429 with a recorded peak of 0.8559 indicates sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenTSDB is a open source, distributed, scalable Time Series Database (TSDB). OpenTSDB is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution vulnerability by writing user-controlled input to Gnuplot configuration file and running Gnuplot with the generated configuration. This issue has been patched in…

more

commit `07c4641471c` and further refined in commit `fa88d3e4b`. These patches are available in the `2.4.2` release. Users are advised to upgrade. User unable to upgrade may disable Gunuplot via the config option`tsd.core.enable_ui = true` and remove the shell files `mygnuplot.bat` and `mygnuplot.sh`.

CWE(s)
CWE-74

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
attack.mitre.org →
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-27040Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-49964Shared CWE-74
CVE-2026-6279Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-27794Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-48205Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-40710Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-43655Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-29827Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-29526Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-7039Shared CWE-74

Affected Assets

opentsdb
opentsdb
≤ 2.4.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References